Monday, December 5, 2011

Cream Biscuits

Did you know - it's getting cold outside. Which means my apartment is crazy cold inside. Luckily I live in Los Angeles, so my cold here is, you know, skewed, compared to the rest of the country.

As in, there is no way I could survive on a space heater alone if I were living somewhere else. I just don't trust those gas wall heaters that we have going on down here. If you've ever lived in an apartment in LA, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. They're shifty. Not to be trusted. Or maybe I just grew up with central heat and don't get it.

Something I do get? Biscuits. Biscuits are great, but especially so when it's cold out and you want some buttery and flakey goodness.

Cream Biscuits by freshfromthe.com

These particular biscuits require cream. So you know I only made them because I had leftover cream from some other recipe hanging around, begging to be used before stinking up my fridge. Nobody likes a stinky fridge.

The best part about biscuits? You can freeze them before you bake them, so you can have fresh biscuits any old time. Brilliant.

Cream Biscuits
(via Smitten Kitchen)

3 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the surface
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter and set aside. Sift two cups flour, the baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Fold in 1 1/4 cups cream. If the dough is not soft or easily handled, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup cream, little by little.

Turn dough onto a floured surface, mound it into a ball and, using your hands, press it to a thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut into rounds, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Gather the dough scraps and continue to make rounds. Brush the top of each round with melted butter and arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately, or flash freeze for future use. (They can be baked straight from the freezer, you just need to add some more baking time, usually around 3 to 5 minutes.)

In photos:


Sifting flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. 


After adding in the cream and kneading it.


I used a larger biscuit cutter than I meant to, so I didn't get as many. I also froze a couple before this step, which is brushing on the butter.

Cream Biscuits by freshfromthe.com

Mine did not brown a whole lot, but I didn't want to overcook.

Cream Biscuits by freshfromthe.com

Slice, butter, enjoy! You can also use jam, of course. But I accidentally broke my jam jar trying to get it open, sending glass shards and rogue jam everywhere. It's true. I don't know my own strength, apparently.

2 comments:

  1. We tend to have leftover half & half. Do you think that would work as well?

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  2. I'm sure you can, just use the lesser 1 1/2 cups amount, and you may need to add in a bit more flour so it's not too runny. I would guess from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more flour depending on the consistency you get with it!

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